I am a 40 something mum to my 2 gorgeous children - for the purpose of the blog will be known as "Fluffy" and "Doodlebug". I wanted to start a blog as a way of remembering all the little things about my children and our lives. The funny things they do and say. I wanted to get it all down before I am too old to remember! If I had the time, I'd keep a journal but for now a blog it will have to be! Note to self - print out my blogs!

Wednesday, 22 September 2010

Finally i got my photos up loaded from our Hols in Turkey. They took far too long arriving but they are now here and i am eager to scrap them, In fact I have given myself the added challenge of making 2 possibly 3 scrap books for family for christmas presents - as if i didn't have enough to do already!! I never get to scrap my own stuff normall cept at my monthly class with Debs. We did 6 cool designs this weekend but i didnt have my hol photos or the christening ones so had to dig out oldies. Which was good cos i had sorted out all my photos recently and had a bundle of TO BE SCRAPPED. Good job done - must add pics on here sometime!

ANyhow the Turkey pics are here and they made me chuckle cos I have tried (!!) to be a bit more arty with my photography - such as layng in awkward positions to get a good shot of Doodlebug laying so cutely on the bed.

Then theres the one that took me a good ten goes cos she kept whipping the darn hat off her head - i got the shot in the end tho.

I adore this one too - Doodle demanded that Fluffy lay nextto her on the ground - of course he does exactly what his sister tells him ! She is so bossy at 18 os to his almost 9 yrs. He is henpecked by her!

Bless !!

and dare i tell youwhat they are laughing about here.......

well doodlebug had been trying to say SIT but it came out as SH1T - of course her dad and brother laughed so much that she keptsaying it .....for days.....even popppingher head up over the back of the seat on the trian home and announced itto the passenger behind - open up floor please and hide my embarrassment. The boys are now forbidden t o laugh at her if she says it again!!!

Sunday, 22 August 2010

Holiday in 3 days time and typical me, I decided I wasnt going to spend £12 on those fancy but oh so gorgeous flip flops that they sell on the high street - no I was going to buy a cheap material pair and customise it myself with pretty buttons and beads. This is my finished effort.

Not only that but I remembered i have 3 items of clothing to take up (using my new sewing machine which i have only tried out once) for the holiday and to top it off I decided i wanted to finally make the ruffle t-shirt makeover as seen on Tea Rose Home blog (http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/) - well actually I decided to go for the pretty flower makeover one instead. Actually u cant really see it properly hee - but i was pleased with it! Yes thats so typical of me - always having a million and one creative projects to be done (mostly picked up from lots of talented bloggers) and I decide to do them all 3 days before holiday!!! Well trousers taken up (2 more to do), t-shirt prepped (45 circles cut out - ouch my scissor fingers hurt!), beads strung and ready to be sew on to flip flops, and only the restto do tomorrow...oh yeah and forgot , I have still gotto make the remainder of teh 19 thank you cards for Doodlebug's christening gifts! WHY do i do itto myself - i bet no one really is that impressed (they SHOULD be - I used my pretty polka dot mini buttons on the cards - i'll be snatching them back!! LOL!) I guess i do it cos i love it - i may not be as talented as Tea Rose Home with her beautiful sewing or all the other ladies i follow on the blogs, but I have been mildly impressed taht I have managed to produce something that I made and I like. Just wish it didnttake me hours when all teh tutorials say a 20 minute project. Oh well I guess i'll get quicker! h I almost forgot I also tackled making my first ever REAL curry using individual spices, courtesy of my friend Rita AND it worked outgreat , albeit a tad too hot - too much chilli powder this time, But it was yum (between slurps of apple juice to cool my tongue)

Hey this has been all about me me me tonight. Thought it was sposed to be about my kids. Well I am thinking I might add a few creative touches in here too so when i am old, I can look back and smile. Hey maybe i'll get a couple more readers too - ha ha. Will postthe photos when i finish t he projects IF I GET TIME

Monday, 9 August 2010

Yes finally Doodlebug's christening day arrived - something i had been preparing for for months. There were lists everywhere. I knew exactly the dress, the theme, the decor and the songs I wanted - it was more like a wedding (but seeing as it is a dream to be a wedding planner, I am not surprised). The dress arrived, the cake (made by Sylv) was taken to be decorated, and the decorations were painstakingly made (see Life is beautiful blog http://debswinrow.blogspot.com/ for ideas on vases) and much to OH annoyance the bills totted up. I could hear his grinding teeth. But this was my baby girl's special day and i wanted it to be perfect. I even decided i wanted to make mostof the food and hence was still up at 11.15pm making the creme pattiserie! Then again at6.30 am to decorate the tart with fruit. I had also set my heart on Peonies for the flowers and was most disappointed when i was t old they were not in season....BUT those angels and fairies were listening to me because as i popped into Tesco - I was amazed to find 2 bunches of pretty pink peonies (and better still one was reduced!!) They'd be perfect with the creamy white roses i had already got). Thank you tesco fairies!

But all this effort was worth it - just look at how pretty the house looked. I want to thank Sadie from Cotton Rose blog http://cottonrose.blogspot.com/2010/07/bringing-out-bunting.html for her help in teaching me how to decorate a beautiful feminine table. With her advice i managed to buy some beautiful sheer organza, which i threw over a double sheet (utilised as a table cloth) and tied at the legs with ribbonand decorated with a flower hair slide! It looked GORGE!

The bunting in the garden was not made but was bought at Hampton Court Flower show. Too pretty! and the trees were decorated with tiny glass and bead tea light holders, altho i dont have a close up of them - silly me!

On to church and we finally all arrived just in time - a little sweaty but we made it! It was a beautiful service, with 2 of my fave hymns, Holy Holy and Gloria (both really jiggy). Doodlebug was on her best behaviour and looked beautiful. She was a little star and we were all so proud of her esp her big brother. She now has 3 god mothers and a god father to watch out for her. So without further ado, here i present my pretty christened beauty.

Then it was back to the house for a busy busy BBQ and garden party - praying teh weather would hold. Despite it being busy,I was so lucky that i had a lot of people to help. My dad and uncle T manned the BBQ like professionals, H and T grabbed pinnies and washing up brushes, I mixed Pimms and the kids ran riot - actually they were pretty good and had lots of fun. I was so pleased the day went almost without a hitch and i want to thank everyone for all their help.

My little princess got some lovely gifts - 2 braclets, 3 necklaces, trinket box, a beautiful silver box witha silver sixpence and a mini guardian angel inside and a girls firts diamond ring on a necklace (swarovski really but oh so pretty!) She is going to adore these as she gets older. So far she is only allowed to wear one of her bracelets as that is Doodlebug proof!

Altho this day was all about Doodlebug, I must not leave out the Fluffy boy! He was a perfect star and helped mew clear up and was just wonderful. Love them both to bits!

Friday, 16 July 2010

At long last Doodlebug is starting to say Mummy - not often i grant you - its usually dad-dee, or nan-nee, but mum-mee is popping up occassionaly. It s funny how her words are coming together. She waffles on in her own funny little language for ages and sometime seems quite determined when she is telling you something yet you havent a clue what it is! Like Fou Fou.....we spent weeks not knowing what the heck a fou fou was. It always cropped up in the garden, and completely flummoxed me and her brother Fluffy. Then one day she spotted something and said FOU FOU - we looked and it was a DOG! Of course Fou Fou , sounds a bit like woof woof. I am so glad i am writing this down cos i will never remember these things! And for those that dont know - Num Num is a banana! Its obvious really isnt it!

Oh i mustn't forget to mention how proud I am of Fluffy - he has finally broken the fear of bike riding and his new (if expensive!!) bike has done the trick. He now cycles freely and easily an d cant wait to get on the bike. Bravo my boy! And a huge well done on his school report. He has finally improved his listening skills and is excelling in Art, ICT, science and maths. The report was glowing and i am very very proud. He is on the gifted and talented list for ICT too and to top it all off he is also only 2 belts away from black belt at Kung Fu - so so proud and I probably dont brag enough about him on here as its usually about Doodbugs expliots which are funny but Fluffy makes me smile just as much and for all the right reasons. Like insisting on always making his teachers presents instead of buying and always looking after his little sister. He is a good boy and I love him heaps! Off soon to buy more pretties for the christening - dress bought and is soooo gorgeous, glass tea light holders to hang in the trees bought from Hampton Court Flower show along with some glorious bunting i got there too - oh i am praying for sunshine cos i want a perfectly pretty garden party for her special day!

Tuesday, 22 June 2010

Things that made me laugh and smile this week all revolved around Doodelbug and her toileting - I am sorry to say.

The firest i am very proud of - at age 15 mos she has decided it is time to potty train herself, so she brings her bright pink turtle potty to us and annouces "Vee Vee" - not sure where she got the german accent from but needless to say we know what she wants!

So we started going through the actions of pulling the nappy and trousers down and letting her sit for a while, occassionally having to retrieve her investigative fingers! Imagine our surprise when she did actually perform and its not just once - it is happening more and more often - YAY to Doodlebug - what a clever girl you are!

Trouble is now it is a game too and no sooner have you hoiked the pants back up but Vee vee is called out again !

The other thing that tickled me this week was being in Tesco's and seeing all teh england products at half price after the footie's disappointing start. Fluffy and i often laugh at the ridiculous things that the england flag is added to - the most recent one was a baby dummy and bottle. Well then i spotted packs of England nappies at half price! Now i would normally consider that to be ultra Chavvy but at half price I am having some of those! So my dear daughter is now sporting chav pants! OMG Doodlebug - please do not bend over!

I keep chuckling at the thought its not very PC having her tiddling on the flag!

Well that's my rambling for today and a pic from this morning of the cheeky girl!

Friday, 21 May 2010

I havent posted for simply ages and feel i really should get my A in gear and start again!

So much has happened since i last waffled on here.

Doodlebug started walking (at least i dont think she was doing it when i last blogged!) No running is more like it - just like her brother did. She did it just a week after her 1st bday and then the teeth started popping through - so we are on permanent teething now. 7 so far all since march! She has permanent rosy cheeks, dry skin and sore butt! Poor love and poor Fluffy as she keeps biting his head every time a new tooth arrives. In fact she beats him up no end! The other day i caught her with a heavy Dora doll just as she whacked him over the head! This was after the dalek attack whilst he was laying in the bath! Yes dear reader Doodlebug is a tad naughty and boisterous. She dresses like a lady in her bangles and pretty shoes but boy can she wallop like a boy!

Fluffy is learning about the Tudors now and recently visited Anne of Cleves house with the school. I gave him the motherly chat about don't waste your money on rubbish - buy something that will help you remember your trip. So i wondered what delight he would bring home - a pencil with Anne's head on it? A mini head chopper? a paper folding model that would never get made? But i was pleasantly surprised to see that he had listened to my advice and was very proud to show me the miniature metal Henry VIII keyring. he said - now i will remember my trip - GOOD BOY!

I have so much to say and i think i will have to leave out most of it or this will expand forever. So one final thing......I can't recall if i mentioned Doodle's hair always in her eyes and the fact that she always pulls out the slides or hair tie that i put in - well she has discovered head bands and skillfully puts it on her head every morning -in fact today she ate her porridge wearing her pink gingham headband and red and white polka dot 1950's sunshades - how chic ! Wish i had the camera! Instead i leave you witha pick of a top knot that stayed in all of 3 seconds! Cute while it lasted!

As ever my babies are my complete delight and as naughty and cheeky as they can be - i adore them! xx

Thursday, 18 March 2010

Now what i want to talk about is sleep or lack of. How come my first born was the calmest baby ever, and went to bed and slept throught the night from 6 weeks old. Now his sister is the complete opposite and age 1 yr and 2 weeks - will not sleep in her cot. She will sleep for an hour and then wake up and put her in bed with me and the zzzzz's begin. It's so not ideal but i am putting up with it cos its a darn sight easier than being woken up every hour. I know I know I should have done it ages ago and she was pretty good until xmas when she was ill and slept in my bed and now i can't break her of it - Easter is crunch time - i have a week off and will persist. I WILL get OH to help too - he doesnt know yet!!! LOL I just told him he has to take some time off for family time - tee hee!!! Well i wont worry about that just yet.....X-factor with no 1 son this sunday at the o2. Well it seemed like a fab idea at xmas time when i was doing my usual thing of going over the top with presents as we all do and buying that last minute gift whihch cost a fortune - yes we all do it! Now I have reality looming, like the 2 hour drive, the £20 parking fee and the dread of Jedward - OMG that last one is a nightmare awaiting to happen. I am looking forward to having quality time with Fluffy cos he rarely gets mummy and son time these days now that he has a baby monster - i mean sister. SO i know we'll have fun!Daddy has to look after Doodle all day - yes all day - oh and i forgot to metion to him that he has both of them on saturday too - ahem - well i kinda forgot it was scrap saturday with my friend and tutor Debs - check out her blog Life is beautiful. Very lovely and talented friend.Well enough of my ramblings tonight - its time to catch a few zzz's myself before doodle wakes up! ......and there she goes as i hear a little wail at the other end of the house - AAAAGHHH!!!!

Saturday, 13 March 2010

First the happy news - Doodlebug reached 1 last saturday (yes i am a bit late in updating!) I cant believe that a whole year has gone by already. End of sterilising bottles - YAY! We had a little family tea party for her and she looked so cute in her party dress. Mummy made yummy cup cakes with creamy swirly pink icing and glitter. I was so proud of them as I am NOT a cook, but I followed the hummingbird bakery recipe book to the letter and the result was yummy! I admit i ate 3 in one day!!!Its funny how Doodlebug reaching 1 has reminded me of Fluffy when he was younger. Little things come back to me like how he called Elephants ENTER-FANTS and when learning his colours he'd repeat Red - RED, Blue - BLUE, Green - GEEN, Yellow - HMMMHe would never say yellow always Hmmmm. Then tehre was wobbly head - dont ask - it was just funny - guess you had to be there. Anyway the memories are there and its amazing that in 8 years I had forgotten so much. I MUST WRITETHEM ALL DOWN!!ANother good thing this week, the little one is almost walking - 27 steps tonight and of course she applaudes herself after!The sad news is we lost our Blizzi -

I cant quite come to terms with it really as it happened so quickly and Fluffy was devastated. He only went to the vet for a check up on his asthma and died as soon as we got there - i think the stress tipped him over the edge. I feel so guilty as since doodle was born, i'd not shown him as much love and attention, but i did love that cat. Fluffy and I bought a rose to put on his grave - a white one in his memory. RIP dear Blizzi.Might stop doing this blog as cant really imagine anyone wanting to read my ramblings. Might start a journal instead. Need to think about it!AGH Doodlebug just found my wine!!! She sure love the flavour LOL!

Sunday, 14 February 2010

I decided at the beginning of the year that I would get all my scrap booking up to date, all photos printed, filed or scrapped and all half finished LO's completed. So far so good, I am keeping to my word. The dining room table is a hive of activity most evenings, in between cooking, cleaning, feeding children and all the other jobs a mother has to do - but i do manage to find the odd 10 minutes here and there to scrap my memories. I am being pretty good too at using up old stash. The trouble is I have just seen the most gorgeous collection by Cosmo Cricket and its so perfect for my current idea. We usually go to a coffee shop on weekends, - its our family treat - Decaff Latte for me and a yummy cake of course. I had this idea ages ago to do a page on these trips - you know pics of the cake, the coffee cup - all arty of course. WELL this weekend we popped to Reigate and went to this adorable tea shop. It was an ecclectic mix of mismatched china, spotty table cloths, cards for sale and hearts!! Now i LOVE hearts as you know and of course had to buy a few. Everywhere i looked in that little tea shop i was seeing perfect pictures to take - the table cloth, the welsh dressers, the china, the pink lemonade and the HUGE scone and clotted cream I "had" to eat. It was a scrappers heaven. My mind was working over time - but you know what....I left the damn camera at home!!! Now i am just gonna have to go again aren't i!!! And the Cosmo papers will be PERFECT!!! I think they are called Early Bird.Hmm this blog has been all me me me tonight ...... Must just mention that we went to church this morning as we are having "Doodlebug" christened soon. During the service I suddenly spotted her legs just about to disappear under the pew in front - just managed to drag her back as those around me dissolved into chuckles!! Goodness only knows what the vicar would have thought about this little baby crawling up his cassocks! (i hope i used the right word there!) Oh well i guess she made an impression!

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

This month both of my children have made me very proud. Fluffy has been put on the talented list for ICT (that's computers to us oldies) and will have the chance to do courses when they come up. They have been doing computer animations at school and he has been practising ever since on a very good online tool called PIVOT. Check it out its great for kids and adults alike. He has made a fire breathing Blizzard (Blizzi is our cat!) and Doodlebug eating stick men! Well anyway I am very proud of him for his achievements, not to mention improving in his times tables and spellings and becoming a free-reader - woohoo - well done Fluffy!! We treated him to a meal out at the local pizza joint - yum!Doodlebug of course deserves some praise too this month as she has started to walk gingerly holding only the one hand now. She cruises around the furniture quite happily on her own or with both hands held but this new talent is taking a lot more concentration. Oh and she has learnt to kiss! She looks like a goldfish puckering up but a kiss is a kiss! At first it was only practised on the cats Blizzi, Lotti and KC but she is now progressing on to people - oooh i love it!Doodlebug's naughtiness for this month - we found her standing on top of her nappy changing box and leaning on the windowsill - ok its only a foot off the ground but still precariously balanced. How i wish i'd had the camera! But i thought best not run and get it cos you just know she'll fall and how guilty would i feel - just to get a funny snap!!Well that's about all i have to say this month, so until next blog - take care and love you kids all the way to the moon and back xxx

Saturday, 23 January 2010

Well now that I have taken the first steps to becoming a blogger, where do i begin? I want this blog to be about me and my children so that they will have our memories typed up for when I am old and crinkly and can't remember anything. OK so I can't remember much as it is now, at the ripe old age of 42, but that I like to think is down to "Mummy brain". Well having a baby at 41 is, I can tell you, a HUGE shock to the system. Yes my sweet baby girl (aka "Doodlebug") arrived in my 41st year and boy do we know we have her! She is my little monster. 10 mos old and already a whirling dervish! Adorable, cute, funny, cheeky and naughty! How can one so small be all of this I keep asking myself, but she really is a character and soooo ful of beans. I was used to my placid son "Fluffy" - he was my first born and was quiet, calm and chilled out. Doodlebug is his complete opposite - noisy, full of beans and completely cheeky! I adore them both of course for all their qualities and because I made them - with the help of their dad!Well this is all I have to say right now, as I need to get ready for my 25 yr school reunion - need tummy control pants (damn forgot to buy some), oh well wear black then - that will hide the lumps n bumps left over from having the baby - what? that was 10 mos ago - oh yes I REALLY must diet soon!!!